What is Digital Skills Nigeria?

The Digital Skills Nigeria (DSN) initiative is a multi-year, multi-stakeholder partnership between Microsoft, The Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, Tech4Dev, and private and public sector stakeholders, designed to equip young Nigerians between the ages of 16–35 with digital skills that will increase employability and foster inclusive/sustainable economic growth in the country.

With the DSN program, there is an opportunity to close the knowledge, skills, and technology gap that exists in several communities, as professions continue to evolve and grow more digitized, necessitating a need for people with a foundation in digital skills.

The DSN program is structured to provide three learning skill levels; Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. The Basic Digital Skilling component focuses on providing individuals with Basic Digital Literacy competence, which is a crucial skill to have in today’s digital age.

This component is particularly designed to provide individuals with an endorsed certificate for their Basic Digital Literacy competence. The program equally caters to the individual’s learning style as it is carried out through a self-paced learning mode.

Some of the available Basic Digital skill courses on the DSN website include Working with Computers, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Creating Digital Content, Collaborate and Manage Content Digitally, among others. By engaging in these courses, individuals can improve their digital abilities and increase their employability, which is significant to the development and growth of Nigeria’s economy.

The DSN initiative is one of the ways the Nigerian government is working to build the capacity of young people to contribute effectively in a global market. By bridging the digital divide and improving the employability of young Nigerians, the initiative is contributing to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.